U.S. President Barack Obama, left, delivered remarks after a briefing on U.S. efforts against the Islamic State (ISIS), at the Pentagon in Arlington on Monday. He called the conflict a "generational struggle," one that will be defeated better through ideology than with guns. (Reuters)

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Geneva – Defeating the extremist group of Islamic State (IS/ISIL) will be accomplished “through ideology”, not by guns, said President Barack Obama on Monday.

After being briefed by the Pentagon on the anti-IS military campaign, the U.S. President called on member states of the international coalition to increase cooperation in order to eliminate the radical group.

Obama said in a statement that he will look to “partner with Muslim communities” that he said are often the target of IS attacks.

“The battle for hearts and minds is going to be a generational struggle,” U.S. President said.

He emphasized that the U.S. will not send troops into ground combat to fight the IS militants in Syria or Iraq.

On the other hand, Obama acknowledged that the U.S. lacks a “complete strategy” for training Iraqi troops to carry out ground missions against the radical group.

“The local authorities in targeted communities are essential to any kind of resolution.”

“If we [the U.S.] try to do everything ourselves, we’ll be playing whack-a-mole,” Obama said.